Statistics Canada announced that Canada’s merchandise exports decreased 0.2% in March, while imports were down 1.5%. As a result, Canada’s merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $1.4 billion in February to $506 million in March.
The March 2025 decrease in total exports coincided with the implementation of new US tariffs on Canadian goods. Exports to the United States (-6.6%) were down significantly for the month, but this decrease was almost entirely offset by a strong increase in exports to other countries (+24.8%). Overall, declines were observed in 6 of the 11 product sections. Exports of consumer goods (-4.2%) were down the most in March.
After increasing for five consecutive months, total imports were down 1.5% in March. The largest contributors to the decrease in March were imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products (-15.8%) and energy products (-18.8%).
While exports to the United States were down in March, imports from the United States fell 2.9%. Canada’s merchandise trade surplus with the United States went from $10.8 billion in February to $8.4 billion in March.
Following a 12.4% decrease in February, exports to countries other than the United States rose 24.8% in March, representing the second-largest percentage increase on record. Exports to the United Kingdom (unwrought gold), the Netherlands (crude oil), Hong Kong (crude oil) and Germany (various products) increased the most for the month. Meanwhile, imports from countries other than the United States were up 1.0% in March. Canada’s trade deficit with countries other than the United States narrowed from a record $12.2 billion in February to $9.0 billion in March.
